Jade
by YinYangProphecy
Summary: This is a partial sequel to my previous story 'What's Past is Past'. If you haven't read that one yet, I would suggest reading that one first, but it's not required. This is the story of Eleanor's daughter after her mother's disappearance. Updated only when I'm inspired.
1. Beginning

**Since my last story got such positive feedback, I've decided to write a sequel to 'What's Past is Past'. This is the story of Jade, Eleanor's daughter.**

_I was born differently from other people. My mother showed no signs that she was pregnant. No doctor in their right mind said that she would have any more kids. But the doctors working with seekers rarely were completely in their right mind, and one of them believed her. He told my mom to change into a examination gown, and that saved me from further injury. When I was born, my mom had two seconds of warning. Then I shot out into the life and crashed on the floor. Either the way I came to be or the landing affected me for the rest of my life. I was paralyzed from the waist down and mute.  
_

_No one would have expected much from me if it weren't for my dad. From the time I was four, Dad taught me everything that he thought a kid would need, and hired someone to teach us the language of hands. That way he could understand me, and I could communicate with other people. Not that I ever wanted to leave the house. I got used to the pattern of my life, but once again a change came. Mom had been acting strangely for months; eating three times the amount of food, got more emotional than ever, and she seemed to be gaining a little weight. One time I was drawing on the back door when a message came from his friend Eathan to head to the local seeker hospital. _

_We arrived at the hospital about the time they showed up. Mom was bleeding badly from her arm but she was clutching her stomach. She saw Daddy, "Metz! I'm pregnant again! And this one doesn't want to wait!"_

_We were swept into a small hospital room, and the nurse raced off to find the doctor. But almost as soon as she left he shot out and landed in my arms. Eathan yelled for the nurse to come back, and when she and the doctor arrived, Mom was unconscious. They freed my brother, and sent us away. Dad sent me home with Eathan, and I didn't know what happened for a long time. Later Dad told me that Mom was completely unconscious for a week. She had been shot by a 'bad' guy, and that's why she was bleeding from her arm._


	2. Dante

**Whenever Jade uses sign language, I'll make it bold italics like _this._**

_I was running through a field of beautiful flowers with people around, and I didn't feel scared. I run to find my Dad, to show him that I could walk and..._

"Jade, wake up! We need to get the house clean before your parents get home! Come on! Hurry up!"

I groggily sat up and glared sleepily at Eathan. I really didn't like it when people woke me up. _**They won't blame me for a dirty house. Mom thinks that I can't do anything, so only you'll get in**_ **_trouble. _**He looked at me, "Why do you have to be so smart? Most eight year olds wouldn't know that their parent thinks that about them."

I smiled and pulled myself into my wheelchair. It wasn't easy, but we managed to get it clean before we heard the car pull up. Mom came in first muttering like always, "That doctor doesn't know what he's talking about. My son can't be crippled, he's perfectly fine."

Mom had a sling with her right arm in it. Dad looked at us, "How's my little girl? Did you behave for Eathan?"

He nodded, "Except for when she sassed me like her mom. That definitely threw me for a loop. How are ya Eleanor?"

"I'll be better if that doctor takes back that lie he tried to feed me."

Mom stormed upstairs while Dad explained, "The doctor said that since Robert Dante came so early that he'll have side effects. One of those might be blindness. Hey Jade, do you want to hold your brother?"

**_You better believe I do! He's so__ adorable!_**

Dad put the tiny infant in my arms and I cuddled him to my chest. He seemed to sigh when I touched him. Eathan leaned over my shoulder, "Wow, he's so tiny. Is that part of being born too early?"

Dad nodded, "Yeah, they say that most kids that are born early end up being small and they typically have learning disabilities. As if this family needs any more problems."

Little Robert Dante opened his eyes and looked right at me. I signed with one hand **_You are the cutest thing that I've ever seen. Don't worry about what everyone else says, you'll be just fine. I'll make sure of__ it._**I watched him try to grab my hands and put them in his mouth. But I could already tell that he was stubborn, because he would cry if I did it for him. Dad and Eathan kept on talking until Mom came back down for dinner. Then she saw me and I knew what was coming, "You let her hold the baby? She might forget about him and start moving her hands. He doesn't need to be dropped on the ground as well as the doctor being cynical to him! I'll hold him if you won't."

Dad stepped between us, "First off, you can't hold him with your shoulder hurt as badly as it is, and secondly, she has been holding him since you went upstairs. If she would ever drop him, she would have done it by now. Plus she's mute, not an imbecile. If you can't accept that Eleanor, maybe you aren't the woman that I married."

She recoiled from him as if he had slapped her. Eathan back up, and dragged me with him. My brother was whimpering and I tried to calm him down by rocking him. Mom stormed out of the door, and Dad sank down onto the nearest couch, crying harder than the infant in my arms. Eathan motioned for me to take my brother to the nursery while he tried to comfort Dad. I put him down in the crib and made a nickname for him. **_Don't you worry Dante. Things will get better soon, I promise that I'll always be there for you._**

* * *

**A/N: Hey E, I was hoping that you would see this. How is this for right in the feels?**


	3. Farewell

I brushed out my hair and gently braided it over one shoulder. My room always smelt like baby lotion due to it being connected to Dante's. I pulled on a button up shirt and made sure that the right buttons were in the right holes before trying to pull on a skirt. Unlike everyone else, I had to pull it over my head down to my waist. The good thing was that I didn't have to fuss over it too much. I made sure that the skirt was covering my legs, and put on thick socks to keep my feet warm. That was the first thing that the doctors had taught me about dressing myself, always put something on your feet. Not that I knew if they were warm or comfortable. I pulled on a sweater vest and adjusted it, even though I knew that Dante would mess it up later.

I rolled into his room and saw him watching me with his happy face. I unlocked the side of the crib and let it topple down, making it easy to pick Dante up. Dad had done all of this, explaining that it would maybe encourage me to talk. Mom wasn't happy, but she agreed once she spent the night trying to calm him down after I fell down the stairs and had to go to the hospital. It wan't hard to figure out that my brother loved me more than anyone else. **_Good morning, squirt. I hope that you didn't have any nightmares that you didn't tell me about. You ready to get food in that little tank of_ yours?**

He happily cooed at me, and held on to me as I rolled down the hall to the dining room. A bottle was ready on the table, prepared by Dad. I heard him making breakfast in the kitchen, and possibly another bottle. I put Dante into his high chair and handed him the bottle. He was getting surprisingly good at holding onto things, so I let him do it whenever there was a chance. Mom came in and grabbed a sack breakfast. She called to Dad, "Metz! I'm going to visit my mother. She wants to talk to me about something. I'll be back in a couple days. Love you!"

She swept out without even turning to either of us, and slammed the door shut behind her. Dad came out with my breakfast and a new bottle, just in time. I pulled the empty one from Dante and handed him the new one, which he started gulping down like he was starving. I ate my breakfast with equal fervor, and handed Dad my plate by the time Dante finished. Once again, I had to yank it from him, and then I carried him back to his room to get him changed. I put him in a camouflaged onesie and let him crawl around. I was working on an essay for my online class when movement caught my eye. _ J. _Dante kept signing the first letter in my name. I signed back to him, _**And what do you want? More**_** _food?_**

He smiled at me, and motioned up. I raised an eyebrow_** Oh, so you want me to pick you up, huh? **_To my complete surprise, he nodded. I rolled over and picked him up, and he instantly grabbed my vest. For the rest of the day I stuggled to do my chores with my brother attached to my vest.

* * *

Two days later Eathan came over, "METZ! THE ORGANIZATION WENT AFTER ELEANOR! NO ONE HAS SEEN HER SINCE!"

Dad rushed into the living room when he heard that, "No, it can't be!"

"All I know is that they chased her, a cave exploded when they cornered her with her in it, and no one has seen her since."


	4. Adapting

As months passed, we slowly got the facts about Mom's disappearance. Apparently the Organization had been hunting Mom for years and she never told anyone. They concocted a poison that was supposed to kill her, and that was on the bullet that they shot her with. But instead it apparently took her powers, not her life. The real reason that the doctor didn't want her touching Dante was that they were afraid that it was contagious. But we discovered something shocking, the doctors were wrong about it being contagious, but not about Dante. He actually was blind. No one knew how he was able to be completely aware of everything around him.

My life stayed pretty dull until we took Dante to a check up when he was three, and found out that his eyes reacted to everything when they didn't use to. Dad freaked out to say the least. I was both happy and sad, it meant that he could have a normal life, but it also meant that I was the oddball in the family. But I sure as heck didn't let Dad figure out that I thought that. He was the only person who believed in my potential. But about that time, a new surprise came along.

* * *

I was drawing a picture of Dante playing with toys, since we didn't have enough money to get a camera. Then I heard Eathan talking with Daddy in the front room, and there was a strange voice in there too. I rolled in and saw a woman sitting on the couch. I looked at Eathan, who was the only one to notice my entrance, **_Who is she?_**

He smiled and gestured to the lady, "Sandra, this is Jade, my friend that I've told you about. Jade, this is my girlfriend Sandra."

I shyly waved at her and she walked over to me, "Eathan has told me about how you take such good care of your baby brother. I think that you are the sweetest girl in the world for doing that."

Eathan walked over to us, "Hey Jade, do you want to go to Ireland with us? I promised my mom that I would introduce her to my friends. And even if you are a lot younger than me, you are my friend."

My Dad picked me up and nodded, "All three of us are willing to come with you. It's just a pity that Ellie couldn't see the two of you."

Eathan laughed, "Are you seriously using that name to talk about your wife?"

"Yeah, every time that I say it, I think of what her reaction would be. That makes it hard to stay sad."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that it took so long to write this. But the term just ended, and it's my last year in high school. Pressure galore! So it might be a while before I do the next chapter.**


	5. Ireland

The plane ride to Ireland was completely uneventful, but I felt sorry for the others once we got to the countryside. We (or should I say they) had to walk from the nearest town because there was no cars left in the rental agency. I held Dante so that Daddy and Eathan could carry our bags while Sandra pushed me. After an hour, they switched so Eathan was pushing me. Not long after the switch, we arrived at a really pretty inn. We were walking up to it when two women came running out. They both hugged Eathan, and once that was done he introduced us, "This is Sandra, and Eleanor's family: Metz, Jade, and Dante. Eleanor won't be coming."

I wondered why he cared so much about Mother, and how these women knew her. The woman crouched down to my level, "It's a pleasure to meet a young lady who willingly takes care of a younger sibling."

I smiled and then looked at Dad, _**Tell her that I only do it because I want my brother to always have someone there for him.**_

Daddy smiled, "She says that she does it so that her brother always has someone to turn to, because I'm not always there for them."

Eathan seemed to realize something, "Oh, where are my manners? Everyone, this is my mom Reba, and my little sister Hollybush."

Hollybush was like a copy of their mother, but slightly taller, which wasn't saying much. I wondered where Eathan got his height from. Because his sister only came up to his shoulder. Just then the two of them took all of the bags and lead us to the inn. That's when I realized a huge problem: all of the guest rooms were on the second floor (**A/N: This is when elevators were around, but only in huge places, like major hotels or stores)** and I couldn't get up stairs very easily. I shrugged, and let Daddy push us to it, and then Reba looked at me, "Oh! I totally forgot that Jade can't go up stairs! Do you want to take our room Metz? We can stay in a guest room while you stay here."

Dad looked at her in shock, "I was just planning to take her up the stairs myself. I have to do it whenever she needs to bathe, it wouldn't be too much trouble."

Reba shook her head, "I insist. And I can tell that Jade would like being able to get around by herself, especially if she is taking care of her brother."

Dad had nothing to say to that.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry! I went on vacation and I graduated high school, so I've been really busy. I'll make the next chapter longer to make up for this really short one! The reason that Holly keeps popping up is that she's going to be very important later on in my story.**


	6. Changes

The years slowly passed after Mom died, leaving no woman in my quiet life. I had to go with all of my problems to my Dad, which was awkward for both of us to say the least. Because of this I started having mixed feelings for her, on one side: I wanted a woman in my life, on the other: I couldn't forget how little she helped before her disappearance. Despite this, it was hard going through my teenage years without a mother, and being a surrogate mother to my daredevil brother. He had more close encounters with death than Dad and I combined. His new-found independence made me realize how much my life was confined to my wheelchair and lack of voice. Like trying to teach Dante things for my make-shift classes. But I didn't realize that my worst critic was me until the tree incident.

Dad was late getting back, and I was trying to keep an eye on Dante while making lunch. Out of nowhere, I heard a scream from outside. I rushed out front of the house, and saw Dante hanging from the tallest tree in our front yard. I went under him and saw his brown eyes wide with fear. _**I'm here Dante. Don't worry. Just let go and I WILL catch you. I promise!**_

He shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. It was no use, he wouldn't let go of his own free will. Just then I saw his fingers slip and I lunged forward, catching him around his waist. I stumbled backward, holding him tightly against me, and collapsed in my wheelchair. As the adrenaline faded, I realized what had just happened. And the slamming car door and hurried footsteps told me that Dad did too. I turned to look at him as Dante cried on my shoulder in fear. Dad hugged both of us, and whispered in my ear, "Did you just..."

I nodded and smiled, **_I stood up. I actually stood on my feet, and walked...sort of._**

I held out my hand and Dad pull me to my feet. My legs felt sore, but I could use them! Dad walked next to me with the chair in case they gave out, which they did inside the front door. But my smile didn't fade, even though Dante still hadn't looked up or reacted to anything. I kissed his forehead and Dad spoke, "Jade wants to thank you Dante. You gave her a reason to walk."

He finally looked at me, "Really?"

I stood back up and walked to the couch before collapsing again. He giggled and clapped, "Jade, you can walk!"

I hugged him tight to me and put him on the couch next to me. Then Dante's smile faded, "Does this mean we still have to go to Grandmother's house tomorrow?"

I paled. Visits to Grandmother's house were unavoidable, and awful. Especially for Dante, because Grandmother hated men in general, and was completely disgusted that one came from one of her kids. Dad nodded, "I'm afraid so. The only way the family let me raise you two was for you to spend time with you Grandmother every year."

_**But it's so not fair that we have to go there on our birthday!**_

Dad sat next to me, "That's why we don't have a choice. Tomorrow is the day when you get the family inheritance Jade. If you don't go, you are disowned, and I lose custody of you."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry the time in Ireland wasn't very long, but I honestly didn't feel like writing much about it.**


	7. Fatherhood

I sat in the back of Dad's car, clutching Dante to my chest. We were pulling up to the mansion and I could already see that the servants were waiting for us. When the car stopped they grabbed the luggage and went inside. Then a younger guy opened my door, "Bonjour Mademoiselle Jade. Je m'appelle Javier, et je suis votre majordome."

I nodded, and waited for Dad to bring my wheelchair around. Once it was in place, I let Dad lift me into it, mostly because he didn't want Grandmother to know that I could walk yet. Then I turned to Dad, _**Could you ask this man who decided that I need a butler?** _

Daddy turned to him, "Qui choisi tu pour attendra ma fille?"

"Madame Elaine et Monsieur Robertson."

I was surprised, Elaine was Grandmother's grandmother, and Jacob Robertson was her old boss, who got a blood transplant from my ancestor who was basically immortal. I had never met them, so it was a surprise that they hired someone for me. Just then a beautiful woman walked up. She had golden hair and eyes the color of the sky. Behind her was a woman with hair so black it seemed to be a void, just like mine. The only difference was that she had the same eyes as the golden haired woman, and almost every other woman in my family. Mother stood out in our family just like I did. We were the only ones without blue eyes. Golden woman held out her hand to Dad, "I'm Elaine Casterwill, and this is my daughter Zoe. This is our first time in Paris."

Daddy smiled, "I'm Metz Vale. I've spent an unfortunate amount of time in Paris. These are my kids Dante and Jade."

They looked at us in unison. Dante buried his head in my shoulder. Elaine looked worried, "Why is he hiding his face?"

Dad sighed, "Every woman in his life except Jade is rude to him. He expects you to be the same way."

Elaine looked at Zoe, "Did you know that?"

She shrugged, "I certainly didn't teach Marion to be rude to anyone."

Just then Grandmother staggered up, already getting drunk on wine. Elaine opened her mouth, but then the most amazing thing happened; "Boltflare!"

The bottle shattered, and the wine soaked her dress all of the way down. She glared at him, and Dad picked her off the ground, "I've held my silence long enough! I am sick of you getting drunk everytime these two are over here, and I am REALLY sick of you using them as target practice! If you dare get drunk in front of my kids again, I will take them and move somewhere that none of you #^#$%^ Casterwills will ever find us! If you insult my kids again, I will set your stupid house on fire and then do the same thing. And when I mean MY KIDS, I mean all three of them. The only reason Marie is living with you is that Eleanor took pity on you. In her will she specifically said that you only get custody of her as long as you remain sober. Which means at any given time I can RUIN your pathetic life! Don't you dare think that my silence means that I am weak. After all, I PROPOSED TO THE MOST FEARED SEEKER IN THE $#&amp;$%^ FOUNDATION! THAT MEANS THAT I HAD THE GUTS THAT NO ONE ELSE HAD! I RISKED MY ENTIRE CAREER, AND I DO EVERY SINGLE DAY AS I RAISE MY KIDS! SO STOP UNDERESTIMATING MY BRAVERY AND STOP OVERESTIMATING MY GENEROSITY! Now if you'll excuse me ladies, I am going to my quarters."

He dropped Grandmother and stormed off, leaving all of us staring at his back in shock. Then Elaine shook her head, "Are we sure that he isn't one of us by birth?"

Zoe shrugged, "He certainly doesn't make it easy to tell."

* * *

**A/N: E, I'm sorry about the confusion, I just got so used to typing it normally, and I thought that I changed them all to her kind of talk. Just for your information, this is the closest to cussing I've ever been in any of my stories. I leave the dirty minds to all y'all. And yep, I started typing in other languages. (Et si le Francais sont lit ce histoire, je suis un Americain qui est essayer ecrite dans un langue je ne parle, mais, je ne traduiser avec Google!) that was me apologizing to anyone who fluently speaks French. Anyway, here is the translation:**

**Hello Miss Jade. My name is Javier, and I am your butler. (I wanted to write personal butler, but I didn't know the word for it and I don't trust Google translate)**

**Who chose you to help my daughter?**


	8. Inheritance

It took everyone about a full minute to get over the shock of my Dad yelling for the first time in my life. When we all recovered, Elaine pushed me into the building, and I heard footsteps. A girl skipped down the stairs with candles in her hands. Her blonde hair was in a curly mess, but her eyes were the blue that was common in our family. She smiled, "Hey Elaine, Zoe. I got the candles!"

Dante smirked, "Marie has candles!"

I hit my forehead with my hand as she looked over at us, "When did you get here?"

Dante jumped out of my arms, "We got here and then Daddy yelled at Grandmother, and Jade has a butler!"

_**Why does every visit start with really weird crap?**_

She laughed as she gave some of the candles to Dante, "All of the interesting things only happen when the two of you are here," then her expression changed, "Wait, Dad yelled at Grandmother?"

Elaine nodded, "It startled everyone."

We were all led by Elaine into a room, and the others set up candles around it. The room was perfectly circular, and had shelves covered in wax where the candles obviously went. Dante walked over to me and held my hand as the others put the candles on the shelves and lit them. When they were done with that, Elaine knelt in front of Dante and smiled, "Come here."

He walked over to her and she held his hands, "Robert Dante Casterwill-Vale, as the youngest one in the family, you get your inheritance first. Everything your father has will belong to you one day, no matter if it normally doesn't go from father to son."

The candles flickered, and Zoe nodded her head, "Looks like our magic agrees."

Elaine smiled at him again, "Okay, can you wait with Zoe for a little bit?"

He nodded and ran over to Zoe, who picked him up and hugged him. Then Elaine moved over to me and knelt until we were practically face to face. I shrank down in my chair, but she grabbed my hands, "Let's show Marion what you did to protect Dante."

She pulled my arms and I landed on my feet. Everyone gasped, and I held on to her tightly. Elaine looked me in the eyes, "Elizabeth Jade-Eyed Lighting Alphamaria Casterwill-Vale, we are here to celebrate your sixteenth birthday, as has been the family tradition from the time of Casterwill and his children. As is tradition, this is the day you take over leading the clan. Everything that was left to your mother is now yours. And no matter what, we will all be there for you, including your father I'm sure."

When she was finished I collapsed into my chair, and tried to hide my face. Dante forced his way over and crawled up in my lap, and hugged my neck. Then Elaine turned to Marie, "Come here Marie."

When my sister stopped in front of Elaine, they grabbed each others' hands, "Marie Diamond Casterwill-Vale, you will inherit all that your grandmother has. But it's your responsibility to help your siblings and protect them. Your sister will need you to be her voice, because she will never know how to tell other people how she feels."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I'm so sorry that it took so long, but summer is still busy for me. See you next chapter!**


	9. Growing

I packed my suitcase, as Dante kept throwing stuff out of it. Needless to say, I was getting a lot of practice with walking. I finally got so sick of it that I locked him in the closet. I hurriedly packed both Dante's and my things, and just as I finished, Dad came in. I smiled at him, until I saw his face, "We're leaving right now...where's Dante?"

I blushed, **_Closet. He wouldn't stop messing with my stuff._**

He walked over and opened the door. Dante ran out, "Jade locked me in the closet!"

Dad smiled as he crouched, "But you were stopping her from packing. I think that it was a good trade."

Dad picked up Dante, and put the bags in the hands of Javier, who had just appeared. We all went outside to the car, and Dad put Dante in his car seat as I got into the car. Once Dad was done, he put my chair in the back of the car, and got into the driver's seat. As we drove away I talked with Dante about the family until he fell asleep. Then I signed to Dad, _**Why did you look so upset when you came into the room? Did something happen?  
**_

He sighed, "Dante and I are banned from ever going back there. Not only that, but your grandmother is trying to get custody of you because she claims that I have a violent temper."

**She's**_** the one that has thrown wine bottles at my **_**HEAD.**

"I know, I know. But she really wants to be in charge of you. Idiotic woman. She'll never win, and now she'll be lucky to keep Marie."

* * *

Dante marched up to me as I weeded the garden, "How long has Dad been planning to send me to a BOARDING SCHOOL?"

I looked up at my now 10-year-old brother, _**Wait, they actually accepted you? The paperwork was due like three months ago, and he sent it on Monday. I thought that it'd be too late. Otherwise I would have told you!**_

He looked at me in shock, "No way! I want you to be my teacher! Not some stuck up snob! You are a great teacher, why is he sending me away?"

_**It's a leadership school. He wants you to help me with leading the estrogen filled psychos that are our family. Plus I can't exactly help you with learning new languages, and you'll need those if you want to be a seeker one day.**_

He sighed, "Fine. But what will you do?"

I shrugged, **_I'll figure out things later. In two weeks I'm going camping with Marie. Some family bonding time or something. I don't know why._ **

* * *

I walked around in the wood, looking for Marie. She went to get a good picture, and I hadn't seen her for a couple hours. Granted, I was enjoying the silence, but that was beyond the point. Grand-mere would be pissed if Marie didn't come back. Then I saw her perfume bottle on the ground near a bush, near bear tracks. I shook my head, _How can I possibly find her? It's not like I can yell for help! _Or could I?

I opened my mouth and grunted. _Not exactly the best start. _I tried again, and this time it was more like a whine. I cleared my throat, and squeaked, "Marie?"

I smirked, and tried again, "MARIE DIAMOND!"

I heard a whisper, "Jade?"

I ran over to the edge, and found her holding onto a tree root for dear life. I reached down and pulled her up, both of us scrambling away from the edge. I flopped on my back and rubbed my sore throat. She sat next to me, "How'd you do that?"

_**No clue. I guess that I just had to want to talk. But that sounds cheesy.**_

She smiled, "Wait until I tell Grand-mere."

I shook my head, _**Please don't. I want her to know the minimum possible about me.**_

* * *

**A/N: Hidey-ho folks! Sorry it took so long, but I was getting my stories back in order, finishing many of them. Yes, there is time gaps in here, but most people have pretty slow lives. See you next chapter!**


	10. Surprise

I walked down the corridor, glad that my shift was finally done. Just then I heard over the intercom, "Jade, report to delivery room 6."

I sighed and dropped my stuff on a nearby chair, and headed to the delivery room. Inside I saw a little baby lying on a cart, not moving an inch. I walked over, picked it up, and walked out bouncing it up and down. Of course they would need me right as my shift ended. I passed the front desk, and Madison smiled at me, "Another one, huh? It's like no one wanted you to leave."

I sighed, "Seriously. I feel like I was only hired because of my little 'talent'. It's kind of annoying."

She smiled, "Hey, you should be proud of your reputation. In three years, you've saved over 100 babies. That's something that no one else can brag about."

The baby coughed, and started wailing loudly. I handed them over to Madison, "Could you take her to the sleeping room? I REALLY need to get going."

She nodded, "Sure thing. Hope you have fun."

I grabbed my stuff and muttered under my breath, "It's going to be a long month."

* * *

I pulled up in front of Grandpa's old house, which was now mine. The mansion was built back in the medieval ages, and was four stories tall. Large windows and stonework were large parts of the design. It looked like a castle, and in case of a crisis, could probably house the entire Casterwill family with rooms to spare. I climbed out of the car and handed Javier the keys, "Is my family here?"

He nodded, "Oui, votre pere et frere ici."

I smiled, "Merci."

I started walking inside when a missile crashed into my stomach, "JADE! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"

He jerked back, "What's that smell?"

I snickered, "_That_, my dear brother, is the smell of a hospital."

He smiled at me, "So what is your surprise for me?"

I called over to Javier, who was coming our way, "Javier, please tell Daddy that I took Dante out to the fields."

As Javier nodded, I led my brother to the stables on the other side of my property, "How is your school?"

He shrugged, "There is only boys there. It's really strange. But I'm worried about Dad, I mean Metz."

I nodded, "Me too. Whatever he did on that last mission really effected him. I've never seen him this exhausted."

Dante stepped around one of the gardens, "And on the whole ride here he didn't look at me. He seemed lost in his head."

I hugged him, "I'm sure he'll tell us what happened sooner or later."

Dante smiled, "And you are never wrong. Now what's the surprise?"

Then he saw the stables, "NO WAY! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN STABLES?"

I smirked, "And you have your own horse."

I whistled, and Danny, the horsemaster, led two horses into the paddock. One was taller than any car I'd seen, pitch black, and terrified of almost everything. The other one was just old enough to ride, soft gold, and calm as you could get. Danny looked at us, "The riding clothes are in the stable."

I chuckled, and gave Dante his clothes, then showed him where to change. I changed out of the smelly scrubs and got into my soft riding clothes. I was buckling on my helmet after storing my clothes when Dante rushed over to me, "This is the best present ever! I love you."

I hugged him too, "Remember that I'm always here for you. Oh, and Elaine hired a butler for you. He should be showing up soon."

Dante raised an eyebrow, "Really? But..."

"He gets to go with you to your school, so you fit in with the snobs."

That made him laugh, and I led him up to the horses. Danny helped him get on the gold one, "This one is named Honey, because she is sweet and calm."

Dante looked at the black one, "And what is that one's name?"

I smiled, "Thunder, because she seems scarier than she really is. She's my horse."

I swung up and she sniffed me, "Yeah, I know that I smell like a nasty hospital."

* * *

Translations:

Yes, your father and brother are here.


	11. Promises

As we rode through the woods he looked at me curiously, "Why can't we call Metz Dad anymore?"

I shrugged, "I have no clue, he just wants it that way. But I'm sure that it's through no fault of our own."

Technically not a lie. I wasn't given any CLUES to why he wanted that, he told me. But I didn't want to burden my 12-year-old brother with the knowledge that we came from a forbidden marriage. I might tell him when he's older, but I want him to have a childhood.

I smiled at him, "Race you back to the stables."

I flicked the reigns and let Thunder take over, because I trusted her judgement more than my own. I heard poor Honey trying to keep up with us, but no one could beat Thunder in a race. We arrived at the stables in time to see Marie get off her horse, Pepper Jack. Dad...no, Metz, was about to get on his horse Mire. Pepper Jack was mostly light gray with darker spots all over, and Mire was multiple shades of brown.

They saw us, and both of them smiled at us. I pulled up in front of the paddock and dismounted as the other two horses danced backwards. The reason I loved Thunder so much was she was the horse version of me. Everyone thought that she would be deadly, but she was shy, scared and had only a few creatures that she would willingly go near. That was a wonderful explanation of me.

We dismounted, "Hey, how are you Metz?"

He smiled, "I'm doing well. How are you adjusting to having a job?"

I shrugged, "Well I guess. No one complains about my work, so I take that as a good sign."

Just then I noticed the exhaustion in his eyes, "Hey, do you want to help me something?"

He caught my piercing glare and nodded. I went to my rooms and showered while he relaxed in my sitting room. Finally I came out and sat on the arm of a couch, "What's the matter Daddy? I've never seen you like this before."

He shifted in his seat, "I bonded with Behemoth two weeks ago. It's already getting hard to move around without help."

I went over and hugged him, "I assumed that you don't want the other two to know about this."

He nodded, "You are right like always. I don't want them to worry about me. I didn't even want to tell you, but nothing gets past you."

"I'll stay quiet if you promise me one thing, if things get worse call me and I'll have one of my friends take care of you. I don't want to always worry about you."

He grabbed my hand, "You have my word."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, I work at a school so this past week has been crazy. And unless you are all anxious for more filler story, I'm just going to skip to Dante's graduation next.**


	12. Truth

I rushed down the hall with a weak Metz by my side. As he tripped for the fifth time since getting to the pompous boarding school, I caught his arm and just started dragging him behind me. We were going to be late if he kept falling, and if I was pulling him, he would be unable to hit the ground. I walked at my full speed, and within five minutes we were in the auditorium with all of the other parents. Dante saw us and ran over, "Jade! Metz! You made it!"

I crouched and gave him a tight hug, "You thought I was going to miss my little brother's graduation? You are the first one in the family to graduate from a traditional school! This is a huge deal."

His friends and butler, Jean, walked over. Jean bowed, "Lady Jade, how are you doing?"

I smiled as Javier ran up panting, "Proud of my brother."

All of Dante's friends stared at Dante as one said, "Wow, you never told us that you were a noble! Or that your sister makes all of these prisses look ugly!"

I glanced at Metz and whispered in Latin, "Did he just round-a-boutly say that I am beautiful?"

He nodded as Dante glared at them, "Seriously! I told all of you to not stare at my sister! She's almost ten years older than us!"

I chuckled when all of their jaws dropped in shock. Finally one of them spoke, "Y-you're kidding, right? She only looks 20."

I smirked, "Thank you for the compliment, but I was born in 1962, 8 years before Dante was born."

I turned to Metz, "Shall we find seats?"

He nodded, and I helped him get to the seats that Jean had reserved for us. As we sat down, Javier joined us and sat next to Jean. The ceremony was long and superfluous, but I was just happy that Dante had made it this far from his birth. As I watched him cross the stage, I made a deal with myself to tell Dante about his birth and more details about our family.

* * *

We helped Metz in and his nurse helped him up the stairs. I walked into the living room, "Jean, Javier, please make dinner."

I gestured for Dante to follow me, and we sat on the couch, "Dante, you've always asked me about our Mom, and I decided to answer your questions."

He took off his glasses and looked at me in surprise, "Really? Well...what did Mom look like?"

I smiled, and handed him the picture that I always carried with me, one of Mom, Dad, and Mr. Eathan in front of the Sistine Chapel. He looked at the picture for a while, and then started to hand it back to me, I shook my head, "You can keep it, I have another picture of them. Mom looked like a female version of you, and acted like a tougher version of Marie. You have her wits and strength, but Dad's patience and leadership. Mom had a temper like a volcano, and she didn't like sitting still. She never dressed like a girl, preferring loose male clothing. She loved to wear a baggy trench coat because it made people think that we was scrawnier than she really was."

He smiled, and then thought, "Did she love us?"

I looked at the window, "She loved being a mom as far as I could tell, but she loved being a seeker just as much. She spent a lot of time with us and she single-handedly provided for us. Dad could have retired, but she wouldn't hear of it, she wanted his career to go far, and she knew it would. I'm pretty sure that she went missing to make sure that the Organization wouldn't find out about us. She was really upset when she found out about...well you know how Marie doesn't have magic and I was in a wheelchair?"

He nodded, and I continued, "When Mom was about 30 weeks into her pregnancy with you, she went on a mission. On that mission, the Organization shot a poisoned bullet at her, it just barely grazed her, but apparently you didn't like the poison. Next thing any of us knew, Mom was in labor almost 2 months early. When you were born, you couldn't see. But like me, you made a partial recovery. My legs are still weak, and so are your eyes."

He picked up his glasses, "So I was born blind?"

I nodded, "When you were two the doctors realized that you could see everything."

Dante nodded, "Thanks for telling me everything."

He started leaving when I cleared my throat, "You almost forgot that Metz said that he had a present."

He turned about and stared at the holotome in my hand, "You mean that I'm going to be a real seeker?"

I nodded, "But you have to promise that between missions you do college and get a degree that you can depend upon in case something happens."

* * *

**A/N: Okay peoples! I think that I'm explaining Dante's life pretty well, don't you?**


	13. Volcano

I opened the latest letter from Dante as Javier and Jean sorted the rest of my mail into piles.

_Hey Jade, _

_You'll probably get really pissed at me for this, but_

_I kind of made Arc's prediction come true. Completely_

_freaked my team out, but I ended up saving the day._

_Metz made me the newest member on the council_

_since one of the other ones died on the battle field, and_

_I can't help but feel inadequate. Plus I really like that girl_

_I mentioned in my letter, you know, the one that was_

_a spy for Organization? Well, I don't know how to express_

_my feelings toward her. Any advice?_

I sighed, "Looks like I'm going to Venice to kick my brother's butt. Who wants to come and yell at him for almost killing himself?"

* * *

I went up to his house, gently knocking on the door. It was opened by a young version of Eathan, probably that son of his that Dante mentioned, Lok was it? I smiled, "Hey, I need to talk to Dante, is he here?"

The boy nodded, and we followed him inside. Dante was reading a newspaper, two girls were in the corner talking, and two other boys were playing a board game with Cherit, who saw me. He smiled, "Jade! Long time no see!"

I saw Dante's face pale when he saw me, for good reason. I marched over to him and smacked him on the head. He snapped at me, "What was that for?"

I glared at him, "THAT, Robert Dante Vale, is for terrifying me with that stupid stunt of yours. You went after a COMET!? How stupid can you POSSIBLY get? Did that years of my life that I gave up to raise you after Mother died mean nothing? Do you have a death wish, because first you go after a man you nearly were killed by, and then you go after a whole group on the day that they are strongest? If you keep this up I will take back my bloodly permission!"

He stood up, "Jade, I am a fully grown man. I can take care of myself!"

I smacked him, "Apparently NOT! Metz said that you DIED and that fact wasn't changed by that titan. And through all of us you didn't think once that you have two sisters who is more than willing to help you. The only reason that I'm not a seeker myself is that I don't want to be. I could have helped. But did you think of that? NO! Because you are too set on proving to the world that you are just as good as Mother. Well, even she knew when to ask for some stupid help! Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't head right to Metz and take away my permission."

He bowed his head, "The reason I didn't ask for your help is that both you and Dia have careers that are just starting. I didn't want to worry either of you."

Enter third and final smack, hopefully, "Do you not remember the last thing I told you? I told you that Dia and I would both willingly give up our careers if it meant that your dreams would be fulfilled. Mother gave up her life for you, and we would too."

He nodded, "I'm sorry Jade. I didn't realise how much you would worry when you found out."

His team was staring at us and I bowed in their direction, "I am Jade Vale. Older sister of your idiotic teacher."

Dante opened his mouth, and then closed it. I smiled, "At least you remember that I don't appreciate being corrected."

Blondey spoke carefully, "Uh, do you normally erupt like a volcano?"

I smirked, "You must be Lok Lambert. I can hear your hidden Irish accent. Dante mentioned all of you in his letters to me. And it depends on what time of volcano you are talking about."

Dante spoke quietly, "When she explodes, fully grown men were known to run. She got that from Dad."


End file.
